Support for Lithuanian retailer

VP Market is Lithuania's leading retailer in terms of domestic sales, and the company said that the money would be used to complete the expansion and development of its logistics and food retail network in Lithuania.

Salvatore Candido, EBRD director for the Baltic states, pointed out the significance of the agreement in light of Lithuania's forthcoming accession to the European Union, which will exert increased pressure on local companies to maintain and improve their competitiveness, especially with a number of western companies, notably Kesko and ICA, already active in the Baltic region.

Ignas Staškeviius, general manager of VP Market, said: "This agreement is important for us not only financially, but also as recognition of our standing in the market place. The loan from a bank like the EBRD shows the transparency, stability and reliability of our company's activities."​

The Lithuanian food retail market has in recent years experienced a transformation from individual shops and kiosks to a market characterised by organised retail development, in no small part due to the arrival of western groups.

Other principal drivers of growth in the retail sector have been recent strong GDP growth, changing consumer tastes towards higher quality products, better customer service and convenience.

VP Market is already making waves, and not just in Lithuania. In neighbouring Latvia, for example, it was recently criticised by rival Kesko for an advertising campaign comparing prices between the two chains.

The ad claimed that VP Market's T-Market store was cheaper than Kesko's SuperNetto discount chain across a broad basket of goods, but Kesko refuted this, pointing out that the price comparison was not for identical products.